Employer Employee Relations

Employer Employee Relations

Learning Team B Paper
Employer-Employee Relations Paper – Edna’s Part
The Nalco Company, a chemical plant, has a number of strict guidelines and laws to adhere to and comply. As one of the leading companies in the field of water treatment for chemicals, Nalco prides itself in strict adherence to the Louisiana state laws. In addressing the widely used employment at-will doctrine, Nalco is well aware of the Louisiana guidelines for this doctrine. Louisiana is a state where the employment at-will doctrine is very popular. In his article Marvin Owen an attorney quotes the Louisiana Civil Code Article # 2747 addressing this doctrine. The article states that, “a man is at liberty to dismiss a hired servant attached to his person or family, without assigning any reason for so doing. The servant is also free to depart without assigning any cause” (Employment at-Will 2002, pg. 1, p. 3). This Louisiana Civil Code has been in existence since 1825. This statute simply states that if an employee does not have a binding contract for an agreed upon time frame or a collective bargaining agreement under union membership, the employer at any time may discharge the employee for any reason or for no reason. The same holds true for the employee, they may terminate the job for any reason or for no reason. This concept applies to both sides of the table.
According to the authors of our text in the earlier American business world, the employer-employee relationship was a closer one than the one of today. Based on what was once the English feudal system, employers would literally house and take care of the needs of the employees. The employers were usually wealthy landowners. The employees were called “serfs” and were subject to the landowners. The employers were like parents to these “serfs” and allowed them to live on the land in which they worked even after they were no longer productive servants (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2007).
The employment at-will doctrine came into...